Coughing, Aching, Stuffy Head, Fever, So You Can.....WAKE UP!

I'm right in the middle of assembling one of these devices so that I will have a constant supply of tissues to wipe my nose. Yep, you guessed it, I have my first cold of the fall season. I noticed Will's nose was running on Saturday after the soccer game and by Monday, it was obvious that he had a cold. Since I always get whatever he is carrying, I woke up Thursday morning and my throat that felt like someone had crept into our bedroom, opened my mouth, and ran a belt sander through it! This morning my throat was a little better but now I've got all the symptoms found in the above title. My wife is fine and I'm sure she will not get this affliction, because she has an unbelievably tough immune system from the many years she has spent in the classroom.

Everytime I catch a cold, I always think back to other past sicknesses. In fact, my recall of past illness is so good that I remember vividly how miserable I felt one particular time that I had a cold in Junior High School! Overall, I've done pretty well avoiding illness my entire life and average about two colds per year and one stomach bug every 5 years or so. But, then we had Will. A child is an awesome blessing from God. Daily I am blessed by just having him around but along with the blessing, I also seem to get every sickness he gets.

Looking back, there is a common thread between all of the illness that I have suffered in my life: I made it through! Have you ever stopped to think about how you make it through and get back to normal after being sick? A Doctor will tell you that it is due to your immune system fighting the infection and utterly restoring you. They are right in a way, but who created your immune system? The fact is that God is our healer or as the Hebrews call Him "Jehovah Rapha", God the one who heals. Think for a moment about all of the bad stuff out there that attacks our bodies everyday. There are viruses, bacterias, chemicals, and lots of other things like pesticides and herbicides that in essence, make war with our human body systems. All of these things are set against us and there is nothing we can really do to prevent them from attacking because they are to small for us to see and brush off. This is one of the greatest qualities of God: He sees the things we cannot see so He can fight for us, protect us, and restore us to health. He does this everyday of our life and most of the time we take it for granted.

I know I take it for granted until I am sick, then I realize that this is just one of the thousands that God has been fighting off for me, but this one got through and took hold on my body. But why would God let me catch this one? I'm pretty sure this is a wake-up call and a reminder of how good He really is to me and my family. Well, it worked and this writing is my attempt to bear witness to it. Today I'm thanking God not only for the healing He gives to us all, all day, everyday. But, I'm also thanking Him for this sickness and the wake up it has given me.